Saints Row

When I saw Saints Row sitting on the shelf in Gamestop, my first thought wasn't "I must have this game". I'll admit to being a cover-judger. I look at the cover of a game first, and if that doesn't grab my attention, I most likely won't give the game a chance. It's an expensive hobby, and I don't like wasting my money on chumps. Luckily, I had heard that Saints Row was pretty good from an aquaintance, so I picked it up. When it first started off, I figured it was going to be a cruddy GTA knockoff, with few, if any, redeeming qualities. I was wrong. While the game's beginning is admittedly somewhat slow, the game itself is FUN, and that's what matters. GTA still holds the cards story and atmosphere-wise, but Saints Row's way of going about the "gangsta epic" is a lot more bearable than GTA. For starters, side missions are actually somewhat fun. Theft turns from an annoying sneaking mission into a fun chase game with just a hint of Simon Says. Most of the side missions are variations of the chase, but there is also an interesting hitman mode, where you're given pictures of your targets and then simple let loose into the world. Finally, the addition of ragdolls for all the people is something that should have been in GTA a generation ago, and it really adds a lot to the experience. I'm sure GTA4 will blow Saints Row out of the water, but until February, this is certainly a fun game to have. The only bad thing is that this game doesn't have any local co-op.